More than 120 biodiesel leaders are in Washington D.C. this week to call on Congress to extend the expired biodiesel tax incentive and to urge the Obama Administration to quickly finalize the EPA’s proposal to grow biodiesel volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard next year.

Industry leaders met with White House officials and members of Congress. They will specifically be calling for the Obama Administration to follow through with the EPA’s proposal to increase the biodiesel volume requirement under the RFS to 1.28 billion gallons in 2013 – up from 1 billion gallons this year. Late last year, the Obama Administration delayed the decision.

“Washington’s failure to act on these two issues has effectively halted the momentum our industry built last year in producing a record of nearly 1.1 billion gallons,” said Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs at the National Biodiesel Board. “It is locking up millions of dollars in investments that could be creating jobs, purchasing equipment and feedstock, and driving economic growth.”

The Administration’s delay on the RFS rule has come as Congress allowed the biodiesel tax incentive to expire on Dec. 31. The tax incentive has broad bipartisan support, and biodiesel leaders will be urging lawmakers on Capitol Hill to pass an extension as soon as possible.

“This is a proposal that has strong support from the EPA and USDA, and yet it has been caught up in a bureaucratic delay for nearly a year, without any explanation or justification,” Steckel said. “It is blocking significant investment and hiring, so we are pleading with the Obama Administration to follow through with its ‘all of the above’ energy rhetoric by finalizing this proposal. It is something the Administration can do tomorrow, without waiting on Congress.”